Friday, August 6, 2010

The Conservative Attack On The Constitution - Which Amendment Is Next?

It is quite funny that the conservatives claim to be the protectors of all things constitutional yet they seem to attack the constitution every chance they get, and when they aren't attacking it, they are just interpreting it differently to allow them more control over the lives of other - just consider their pushes against gay marriage, abortion, gun control, and the freedom of speech.

The conservatives (primarily the new GOP and the tea party) like to defend personal liberties from the burden of government, yet they seek to limit marriage to only heterosexual couples.

They love the sanctity of life yet they would prefer to grant rapists the rights over a woman's reproductive choice - I support a ban on abortion except for instances of rape, incest, child disability, or in life threatening situations for the mother.

They claim to support the 2nd Amendment but they would like to trample the rights of others by allowing gun owners to carry their weapons anywhere, even if a property owner has a policy that guns are not permitted on their private property.

They claim to be for the freedom of speech but they want to shut down an Islamic community center, as well as block the construction of mosques around the nation, because they as Christians feel threatened.

Because the new right loves the constitution so much, they are increasingly embracing the idea that they need to whittle away the various amendments made over the years that they don't like because they give more rights to people, thus limiting their control. On the GOP chopping block are the 14th Amendment, which grants citizenship to people born in America, and the 17th Amendment, which allows for the direct election of senators.

Critics of the 14th Amendment claim that because of its poor wording, illegal immigrants are migrating to America for the sole purpose of giving birth, making their child a citizen and making it easier for themselves to be granted citizenship.

"We're just saying it takes more than walking across the border to become an American citizen," said Arizona State Senator Russell Pearce and author of the struck down immigration bill that stirred up a bunch of controversy. "It's what's in our souls."

Doesn't it speak volumes that a person is willing to endure a dangerous border crossing through the deserts of southwest America to become citizens (we all know conservatives only want to protect the Mexican-American border and not the Canadian one)?

Does the Emma Lazurus poem found on the Statue of Liberty mean nothing?

Pearce is even considering authoring a new state law that denies birth certificates to illegal immigrant women who give birth to a child in America - a clear violation of the 14th Amendment. Don't these idiots understand that just because they say something doesn't mean its true?

As for the 17th Amendment, despite claims from the right that they are for the people, they want to elliminate the amendment that allowed for the direct election of senators to the U.S. Congress. Why? For the sole purpose of giving more power to the state government, not the state residents. The conservatives don't care about the people - they care about who has the power, and for them, the states deserve the power, not the federal government. This is interesting because when a state did appoint a senator, the conservatives were upset - I'm talking about Roland Burris.

Their hatred for these amendments makes you wonder what amendment they would find issue with next?

Will they view the 23rd Amendment as diluting the rights of the states by granting the District of Columbia electors equal to the least populous state?

TomCat over at Politics Plus put it nicely in the conclusion of his Constitution Series, in which he analyzed the entire constitution line by line (for his complete analysis click here):

We have seen, time and time again, issue by issue, that Republican claims to honor our nation’s founding document are as bogus as the statements they make about it.

While Republicans claim to honor the Bible, they ignore everything Jesus taught about caring for the poor and outcast. While Republicans claim to honor our flag, they drag it through the filth of inequality, bigotry, and repression of our most basic rights. While Republicans claim to honor our Constitution above all, they would undo much of what it guarantees. It they are allowed to take power again, the future of our Constitution is certain.